Describe two examples of social engineering attacks.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Consider the following examples:
* Maria is a customer service representative who receives a telephone call from someone claiming to be a client. This person has a thick accent that makes his speech difficult to understand. Maria asks him to respond to a series of ID authentication questions to ensure that he is an approved client. However, when asked a question, the caller mumbles his response so that Maria cannot understand him. Too embarrassed to keep asking him to repeat his answer, Maria finally provides him with the password.
* The help desk at a large corporation is overwhelmed by the number of telephone calls it receives after a virus attack. Ari is a help desk technician and receives a frantic call from a user who identifies himself as Frank, a company vice president. Frank says that an office assistant has been unable to complete and send him a critical report because of the virus and is now going home sick. Frank must have that office assistant's network password so he can finish the report, which is due by the end of the day. Because Ari is worn out from the virus attack and has more calls coming in, he looks up the password and gives it to Frank. Ari does not know that Frank is not an employee,but an outsider who now can easily access the company's computer system.